Speaking to foreign ministers of the Gulf who are visiting İstanbul as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) activities, Erdoğan said: “We have always seen our Uighur brothers, with whom we have historical and cultural ties, as a cooperation bridge between us and China, with which we have good relations. Our expectation is that these incidents which have reached the level of brutality are stopped immediately and the necessary measures are taken in accordance with universal human rights concerns.”
He said Turkey, a member of the UN Security Council for 2009 and 2010, will raise the issue in the UN. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu also condemned the violence and said Turkey cannot stay indifferent or unconcerned to the plight of Uighur Turks living in China's Xinjiang territory.
“Turkey has concerns about developments in the Uighur autonomous region. It cannot remain silent in the face of what is happening there,” Davutoğlu said after talks with ministers from six Gulf countries in İstanbul. “What is happening there is a source of shame for humanity,” he said, adding that he would talk over the matter on the phone with foreign ministers of a number of countries, including the United States and China.
Both government agencies and nongovernmental organizations in Turkey condemn the killings in the autonomous Xinjiang territory, which is home to 8 million Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighurs, and urge the Chinese government to immediately take proper action to stem ethnic clashes and hold those responsible for the tragedies accountable. Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday, Davutoğlu said he will talk with his Chinese counterpart about these events.
While the people in the region's capital Urumqi are still living under the threat of being slaughtered by angry protesters trying to break through the paramilitary police control, Turkey is building up its criticism on all fronts against the Chinese government's failure to prevent the atrocities which have been happening since Sunday.
 Demonstrations were held worldwide yesterday, from Ankara to Washington to Sydney, to protest the killings of hundreds of Uighurs in Urumqi by the Chinese government over the past several days. According to official figures, more than 156 Uighur Turks were killed in riots. |
The riots, which started four days ago and were met with volleys of tear gas and a massive show of force, were triggered by the deaths of Uighur factory workers killed in a brawl in the southern Chinese city of Shaoguan on June 25. State-run media have said two Uighur workers were killed on that day by their Han Chinese colleagues, but many Uighurs believe more were killed and said the incident was an example of how little the government cared about them. Many of the Turkic-speaking group believe that the Han Chinese, who have flooded into the rugged, rapidly developing western region in recent years, are trying to crowd them out and also used the riots to that end.
As no improvement in the situation has been realized, the chargé d'affaires of the People's Republic of China in Ankara, head of the country's permanent representation in the Turkish capital, was invited to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Ünal Çeviköz on Tuesday. During the meeting, “information regarding the situation was received and our sadness, concerns and sensitivity was conveyed (to the Chinese top diplomat),” said ministry spokesperson Burak Özügergin.
Ali Bardakoğlu, the head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, also made a statement concerning the killings in the region. “Being unable to do anything is the greatest of all sorrows. We always say people need to be taught about being merciful. We need people to treat each other humanely. We feel the suffering of the Uighur Turks deep in our hearts.”
Countrywide boycott against Chinese products on its way
The plight of the Uighur Turks has aroused immense reactions all across Turkey. While representatives of political parties and non-profit organizations are condemning the killings, trade unions and businessmen's associations are calling for a countrywide boycott of Chinese products.
“People are seeing the violence against the Uighurs -- they should stay away from Chinese products from now on,” said Ömer Küsbeoğlu, Union of Gaziantep Craftsmen and Artisans Chambers Chairman (GESOB). Deputy Chairman of the Customers Union Mustafa Dinç said they are getting ready for an extensive boycott of Chinese products, too. “Our Uighur brothers have been oppressed by China for so long and we have been against Chinese products from the beginning. Now, we will boycott China both economically and politically,” said Kayseri Trade Union Chairman Hasan Ali Kilci. Assembly Chairman of Erzurum Trade and Industry Chamber (ETSO) Saim Özakalın, on the other hand, called on the government to impose sanctions against China.
Politicians were also harsh on the Chinese government. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Deputy Head Mehmet Şandır said, “China should rid itself of fear and treat its citizens in a more humane way.” The MHP's Kastamonu deputy, Mehmet Serdaroğlu, proposed suspending trade relations with China because of the Uighur Turks plight. Turkey had a deficit of $14 billion in 2008 due to trade with China.
Seracettin Karayağız, Muş deputy for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), resigned from the Parliamentary Friendship Group between Turkey and China in reaction to the atrocities perpetrated against the Uighur Turks for the last four days. Karayağız's decision was followed with an even harsher reaction from the MHP -- all 59 deputies who are members of the group resigned, too.
Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) leader Salih Uzun and the Deputy head of the Democrat Party (DP), Çağrı Erhan, on the other hand, urged the Turkish government, and Premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in particular, to adopt a stance against China similar to their widely-acclaimed reaction to Israel for its deadly offensive in Gaza which began days before New Year's Eve.
Secretary General of the Organization of The Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu also released a statement on the violence in Urumqi, expressing the organization's concern about the loss of lives in the region. İhsanoğlu called on the Chinese government to re-establish the milieu of peace and security to enable the civilians return to their normal daily lives. The secretary-general also said the Uighurs were trying to protect their religious identity and social and economic rights. He said problems stemming from this could only be solved through dialogue. The OIC will be monitoring developments in the region closely, İhsanoğlu added.
“Current violence reflection of Chinese state's historical approach”
Speaking to Today's Zaman, Deputy Chairman of WUC Seyit Tümtürk has said the current violence perpetrated against Uighur Turks cannot be reduced to an incident following a riot, it is in fact “a contemporary reflection of the historical struggle coming from past to present. Since 1949, Eastern Turkestan has been exposed to occupation, assimilation and genocide at the hands of Chinese government.”
Tümtürk further argued that the Chinese government has covered the reality for so long and is now trying to distort it so that the plight of Uighurs in the region goes unnoticed. “The protest on June 25 was such a peaceful one made by educated men and women asking an answer to what happened to 300 of their fellows working in a factory in Shaoguan. But the answer they received is further slaughters. The information we got via phone tells that the death toll is now more than 600 but unofficial speculations are pointing to about 2,000 people's death. We are not sure about the exact number because security forces are getting into houses for ID controls but they kill our brothers inside, too” he added.
The spokesperson of Eastern Turkestan's National Assembly Prof. Mahmut Kaşgarlı told Today's Zaman that China does not want Turkey to intervene into the situation there. “It does not want Turkey to affect Uighur Turks. It sends the message that nobody can help the Turks living there. Their sole wish is to make them lose their identities and ultimately assimilate them,” said Kaşgarlı.
Human rights associations are decrying the current situation in Eastern Turkestan. “All mechanisms should be used to stop China which attempts to carry out a massacre against unprotected civilians. Turkey and all other Muslim countries should boycott Chinese products,” were the words of Bülent Yıldırım, Chairman of the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), lambasting the Chinese government and calling Muslim World for action.
The Human Rights Association (İHD) and Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV) urged the Turkish state to immediately call on the UN Security Council for an urgent meeting to decide on the type of action to be taken by the organization. “We are deeply concerned about the high violations of human rights that are being done to assimilate the Turkic Uighur ethnic community there,” read their written statement.
Benzer Haberler 
National
